The invention relates to a method for carrying out a laser operation, wherein a laser source is provided, wherein lasing gas is supplied from at least one lasing gas source to the laser source for the formation of a laser beam, wherein, with the aid of the laser beam, an operation is carried out, such as for instance a welding, a drilling, a cutting or a lighting operation.
The invention further relates to an apparatus for carrying out a laser operation, wherein the apparatus is provided with a laser source, which is connected to a lasing gas source via a lasing gas pipe system.
Lasers are used on a large scale for all kinds of operations. Possibilities are welding operations, drilling operations and cutting operations of metal, plastic, wood, paper and similar materials. However, lighting operations, for instance for lithographic processes, are often carried out with the aid of lasers as well.
A known problem of lasers is that the laser source requires regular maintenance in order to clean the optical system, which is present in the source. Inter alia moisture and hydrocarbons which are introduced into the source via the lasing gas cause pollution of the optical system in the source. Cleaning a laser source is very expensive, involving amounts of several thousands of euros. In order not to let the frequency of cleaning be too high, for various uses, often much stronger laser sources are bought than is strictly necessary for the process. The stronger laser sources can continue to function longer because the power produced by them remains sufficient for carrying out the operation for a longer period, even when the optical system in the source is polluted. It will be clear that laser sources with a higher power also have a higher cost price.